Only In Dreams
by Red Stockings
Summary: Bonnie believes there is only one way to get rid of Damon. But when he finds himself swapped into Stefan's body, he can only think of Elena. But with her now in his arms, what will he do? Follows cannon. Damon/Elena
1. Bonnie's Promise

**Only In Dreams**

**Summary: **Bonnie believes there is only one way to get rid of Damon. But when he finds himself swapped into Stefan's body, he can only think of Elena. But with her now in his arms, what will he do? Follows cannon. Damon/Elena

**Pairing: **_Damon/Elena and established Elena/Stefan_

**Note**: Continues the story cannon from the TV show, after the final episode (22)

**Chapter One: Bonnie's Promise**

**Bonnie**

Following the death of her uncle, Elena's word had been turned upside down once again. She had been made an orphan twice over, and although she had not loved John Gilbert, she had felt the loss of him as only Elena with her kind heart could. Bonnie could see how the event had affected her best friend. She did not need Elena to tell her, that she was still haunted by the sight of the blood covered kitchen and her uncle's body lying motionless on the floor.

Bonnie knew Elena was not coping, despite what she might want the world to believe. Not only had she had to cope with a murder committed within her own home, but her brother Jeremy had gone missing on the same night.

The worry over her brother now far outweighed any fear Elena might have had for her own safety. Bonnie did not want to add to her pressures by reminding her that as part of a founding family, she was still obviously under attack.

Elena's aunt Jenna had also been beside herself with worry over her nephew. The police had been searching for days. But as there had been no sign of a struggle or an attack anywhere else in the Gilbert house, therefore they had concluded that the murder of John Gilbert and the disappearance of Jeremy Gilbert were two unfortunate, but separate circumstances.

So Elena had been walking about in a daze ever since, going to school, going home, or staying at Bonnie's. If Bonnie could have forgiven Stefan Salvatore for his role in her grandmother's death she might have seen how his constant presence around Elena was a healing one. However to Bonnie she saw him as always pulling her friend back into the dark underworld of Mystic Falls, never letting her escape, never letting her heal.

All of this had happened because of the Salvatore brothers. Everything bad that had happened here had occurred because of them. No, perhaps that wasn't correct. It was because of Damon. He was alive right now because of Elena, but could the same be said for her? Elena had befriended him, and now was damaged, maybe beyond repair. He had made her a target. He'd even probably caused Jeremy's disappearance after playing with him also.

If Bonnie could not get rid of both Salvatore brothers, she would take the lesser evil and rid the town of the most dangerous. Damon Salvatore must leave, or take his chances against her.

**Elena**

Elena was staring out of the window, wondering how she was going to make it to the end of the day. All she could think about was Jeremy and where he might have gone. Was he OK? Was he even still alive? Stefan said that he could no longer sense him in the town, and she knew he had been looking for him. She didn't know if Damon was helping him, she had not seen him since the fire. Although Stefan assured her that he was not hurt, Elena would of liked to have seen for herself. But even if she had done nothing in the days that had followed, she seemed to have no time to go to the boarding house, nor the energy.

She felt Bonnie looking at her, and tried to smile at her as she turned her attention back to the classroom. They were supposed to be copying down the homework for the weekend, but Elena just stared straight ahead. She could ask Bonnie for it later, as right now her hands couldn't move even if she wanted them to. A few minutes later and she found herself in the corridor, her folder hugged to her chest and Bonnie guiding her out of the way of the crowds.

"You should go home Elena," she said concerned.

"No, I'm fine," Elena insisted. "Stefan is going to meet us at lunch."

And that was that. Elena struggled through the next class until lunch, when she found Stefan sitting with Caroline and Matt under a tree. It looked as though they were having a picnic of some kind, and she almost felt as if she shouldn't interrupt, as she was sure to bring her unhappy mood to them and make things awkward. But Bonnie was still steering her where she liked, and Elena couldn't think of an excuse, and before she knew it she was sitting down next to Stefan and he had kissed her cheek.

"Elena," Caroline said in her usual sunny and bossy disposition. "Hungry?"

Elena wondered what was going on. They hardly ever ate outside, and if they did it was on the benches by the cafeteria. She wasn't sure what the occasion was, but was glad of the opportunity to distract herself for a while.

"Starving," Elena said, trying to keep a smile on her face and not spoil the effort Caroline had gone to. She wondered whether this was the blonde girl's attempt at cheering her up, since there didn't seem to be any other reason for all the fuss.

Elena thought Caroline would know everything that had happened from her mother, even though Elena and Caroline had not spoken since Founder's day last week. Then again everyone knew what had happened by now.

Mostly Caroline, who chattered about nonsense, aided by Bonnie, Matt and occasionally Stefan, carried the conversation. Elena was glad that no one really expected any more from her than the odd comment, 'hmm' and nods and shakes of the head. She happily continued to eat, thinking that this was a much nicer way to spend lunch break than in the noisy cafeteria. A moment later her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of car's engine, growing louder in the car park behind them before coming to an abrupt stop.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," Caroline muttered rolling her eyes towards Bonnie.

Elena turned her head to look over her shoulder, and then quickly looked away. Damon was now walking towards them, the sunglasses on his face giving him his usual cocky appearance. Elena didn't know why she suddenly felt nervous. Maybe it was because he was likely to get a frosty greeting from most of the party. But then she knew that wouldn't bother him, so why should it bother her? Maybe it was just because she had not seen him since Bonnie had saved his life.

He looked just the same … just as …Elena blushed.

"This is a _private_ party," Caroline said coldly before Damon could even greet them.

"Don't panic blondie," he said with a smirk. "I'm not here for you."

"Well, good," Caroline said indignant, her mind working furiously for an insult to throw at him. "Then you can go back the way you came."

Damon ignored her, and reached down to grab Elena's arm. To her surprise Elena found herself behind hauled upwards, her feet scrambling underneath her to keep her from falling backwards.

"Elena we need to talk," he said not giving her a chance to refuse. Now on her feet, Elena shot Stefan a 'what the heck?' questioning look and followed where Damon led her.

Elena heard Caroline huffing and complaining behind her.

"He is _so_ annoying. Is he even _allowed_ on the campus? If comes here _again_ I'm going to complain. Why doesn't Elena just tell him where to go?"

They walked until they could no longer hear Caroline complaining. But knowing that Stefan would still be able to hear everything that was said made Elena feel less worried. Caroline was right, Damon shouldn't be here. So why was he?

She had not had a chance to consider Isobel's words, that she had unintentionally caused both Salvatore brothers to fall for her. At least she had only thought about it in terms of what it meant for her and Stefan. She had not thought of Damon. She had not allowed herself. If she didn't confront it, then it wasn't really real. All that mattered was her and Stefan….

She knew Damon could be inconsiderate sometimes, and downright rude to most people, but dragging her to her feet in front of her friends was going a bit too far. Not only that but his grasp on her arm was starting to really hurt.

"What do you want Damon?" Elena asked somewhat harshly. She tired to pull her arm out of his hold, aware that everyone would be watching her.

Damon was forcing her to stand very close to him, and she wasn't comfortable about that. She could see her own face in his glasses, her pale skin, and her dark hair.

"Stop struggling Elena, anyone would think you wanted to get away from me," Damon said pulling her even closer. He took off his glasses and looked at her with his blue eyes. They strayed down to her necklace, her bare throat and then back to her face, the smirk that made Elena feel unnerved was back on his face.

"Stop it Damon," Elena whispered, her voice disappearing as he continued to look at her intently. He made her shiver and gave her goose bumps despite the warm day. "You have to stop doing this."

"Are you trying to play me Elena?" he asked, still his smirk in place, an eyebrow raised in the look that meant trouble.

Many times Elena had rolled her eyes at his manners which the other women of Mystic Falls seemed to have trouble resisting. She wondered how well she would fare without the vervain necklace. But Damon had given up a long time ago in trying to compel her, it was clear he no longer had any interest in her if he had to control her mind.

Beyond the arrogance, the flirty looks and the teasing, could he really be in love with her? Elena couldn't tell.

"You kissed me outside of your house Elena," Damon said quietly, behind the gritted teeth of a smile. He didn't want Stefan overhearing this, but if Elena was going to play dumb, he had no choice but to remind her. "So don't come over all coy now."

Elena looked up at him with a surprised expression, and he could see the innocence in her face. No traces of guilt. No regrets.

"No I didn't Damon," she replied carefully, her eyes desperately searching his face for some clue to this madness. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't do this to me Elena," he said, his mocking voice back when he thought she was playing a game with him. "Stefan can't hear you," he added in a close whisper.

Elena decided to wait out Damon's smirk. He couldn't keep looking at her like that forever. Eventually he would have to stop teasing her and come to terms with the fact that his little fantasy wasn't real and that Elena was not going to play.

Damon's face took on a mock seriousness as he continued to study Elena's face. He took a step back and let go of her arm.

"Are you OK?" Elena asked. She was starting to get concerned now. Had Damon lost his mind in the fire? As the blood rushed back into her arm, Elena realised how tightly he had been holding on to her, and now that he wasn't she could feel his fingerprints still ghosting across her skin. She was going to bruise there.

After a few more minutes of Damon's intense searching of her face, Elena began to feel awkward under his gaze again. Then his expression changed and suddenly Elena felt afraid. When Stefan touched her back, she jumped and looked at him guiltily.

"What is wrong?" Stefan asked, his arm possessively around Elena, shielding her from whatever his brother had come to find her for. He did not know what they had been talking about, but he had not enjoyed watching them.

Damon was discomposed. He ran his hands through his hair, then down his face. As he uncovered his mouth he spoke.

"Katherine," he said after a pause. "It was Katherine, Stefan, she's here in Mystic Falls."


	2. Damon Broken

**Note**: Thank you to those that reviewed and put this story on their alert watch. Please note that Chapter One has been edited, but the story continues the same.

**Only In Dreams**

**Chapter Two: Damon Broken**

**Stefan**

Stefan had felt panicked when Elena had been standing with Damon alone. Not because he thought she was in danger. It was perfectly clear now that Damon would never consciously hurt Elena, not if Isobel's words had been true. But this did not ease him, on the contrary. He was worried because Elena did not look at his brother with fear, or disgust, or even indifference, she looked up at him annoyed. There was something between them, tangible, comfortable together. Even though Elena struggled against Damon's hold, her face was flushed with embarrassment, not anger.

As Damon held her eyes, his expression unreadable to Stefan, this was when he had stopped being a bystander and had sought to end this impromptu meeting under the bright sun. Stefan did not know what Damon had been asking Elena, but as he reached them, he could hear the skips in the beats of Elena's heart. They had unnerved each other, but continued to look to one another for answers.

Stefan had felt a chill run up his back at Damon's claim, and held onto Elena instinctively. If Katherine were nearby, wouldn't they have had some sort of sign? Then again, hadn't two sinister events befallen Elena, the murder of her uncle and the mysterious disappearance of her brother?

"Are you sure?" Stefan demanded, but Damon wasn't paying any attention to him. He continued to look at Elena as if wishing to say something, but not daring to speak.

"Damon!" Stefan called. He was starting to get annoyed by the dramatics now and how Elena's heart kept fluttering with every look Damon gave her. If Katherine was back, then Elena and her family were not safe. "Damon," Stefan tried again, this time pulling Damon a step backwards and away from Elena.

He felt like hitting Damon hard across the face, and didn't understand where the sudden violent urge had come from. He forced himself to stay calm, as it would not have been advisable to draw any more attention to themselves, since everyone who walked by felt it their right to stare at them all. Maybe the student-body could sense a fight brewing, or maybe they were looking for gossip, but there suddenly seemed to be a huge amount of students on this campus, which Stefan had never really been aware of before.

It took Damon a few more seconds to snap out of his revere and back into time. Perhaps being manhandled away from Elena was all that was needed to stop him looking so surprised and confused, and become annoyed.

"If this is some kind of joke Damon," Stefan hissed quietly, so that no one would overhear.

"I would not joke about this," Damon replied, his voice sounding momentarily hurt.

This time it was Stefan that was taken aback, and he let go of his brother at last.

"It had better not be, just look at what you are doing," Stefan warned, his eyes returning to Elena.

**Damon**

Elena stared at him, her eyes wide and fearful. Once again he became aware of her heart thundering in her chest. Damon wondered how someone so small could even make such a noise. He forced himself to tune the sound out, fearing either his head or Elena were going explode.

"Jeremy," Elena said, her small voice full of worry held all of his attention. He didn't care that Stefan was still looking at him with a threatening eye. "Has she hurt Jeremy?"

Damon didn't have an answer for her. He didn't know how this could have happened. He didn't know how he could have possibly mistaken Katherine for Elena. Was he so blinded by the need to possess Elena that he was willing to ignore the doubts he had had when he had kissed her? The questioning, the confusion of how Elena had allowed him so close to her, allowed him the one thing he had been dreaming of for so long. Why had he not listened to that voice inside of him that had said: _something_ _isn't right_.

He felt as if the world had been playing a trick on him. Letting him hope that Elena cared for him also, and then snatching that hope away cruelly. He felt a lump in his throat, and swallowed it away, ignoring the sickening feeling in his stomach.

But Elena made him act strangely, forget himself, often he did things and no longer even knew why. Suddenly he was willing to risk everything for one kiss? Ignore his own instincts; the ones that had made him hesitate? One thing came to him clearly now, Elena made him weak.

"Katherine has been invited into Elena's home," Damon said ignoring Elena's question and speaking to Stefan now. "She can't go back there."

Stefan did not question how Damon knew this, and Damon supposed he was starting to put the pieces together. The shadow of understanding over Stefan's face spoke more to Damon than any words could, and the even more possessive hold over Elena warned him to back off.

**Stefan**

"It was Katherine that killed John Gilbert," Stefan said, finally understanding that Damon must have met whom he thought was Elena after the fire, and had seen her be invited into Elena's house.

Whatever else might of happened, Stefan didn't want to think about, nor did he have any desire to find out. He knew enough of Katherine's nature to know that she would encourage Damon into anything, as she was expert at using those around her. Stefan had to remind himself that whatever Damon thought had happened between him and Elena, it had not be true, it had not been real. He, Stefan, had nothing to worry about.

Nothing to worry about … except that Elena had been living in a house that Katherine had access to. Why had nothing happened since Founder's Day? Was Katherine waiting for them to make the first move? Maybe she was playing a game with them, like she always used to do?

**Elena**

Elena felt sick. Once again the sight of her uncle's body, his missing fingers still on the kitchen counter, the blood all over the floor, came back to her. She felt faint and was glad that Stefan was holding her so closely. She looked from Stefan to Damon, they were talking, but the sudden roar of blood in her ears would not allow her to hear what they were saying. Forcing herself to stay upright, she found herself speaking.

"No Stefan should go," she said, although she felt barely aware of herself. "Aunt Jenna would never get in a car with Damon."

Stefan had obviously been reluctant to leave Elena with his brother, but he couldn't argue with what Elena had said. They needed to get Jenna somewhere safe and quickly, and unless Damon compelled her or physically forced her into the car, she would never go anywhere with him.

"We could convince our dear friend the history teacher to take her away for a few days," Damon said. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind," he added with a quirk of his lips.

"We might need Mr Saltzman," Stefan replied. "We don't know what Katherine is planning."

Damon rolled his eyes. Why was he the one who had to come up with the plan? If Elena didn't look as if she was going to keel over dead from fear for her family, Damon would have given up already.

"Well, unless I compel her and convince her that she desperately needs a holiday and what a fantastic time she will have, aunt Jenna won't be going anywhere," Damon said sarcastically.

Elena tried desperately to think of a plan to get her aunt out of town. She would never just leave, especially not with Jeremy missing. There was nothing, short of telling her truth that would work.

"Damon you will have to compel her, it's the only way," Elena said at last, feeling defeated. "Tell her that she needs to go away for the week, make sure she's not worried about Jeremy, and that I'll be ok. I… to keep her safe … "

**Damon**

She did not ask him, she just knew that he would do it for her. Down to every detail. He could almost see the weight lifted from her shoulders as the worry drifted from her. Her aunt would be OK, because he, Damon would save her. He wondered when Elena had stopped looking at him with that ever-present glint of fear and had swapped it for trust? And of course Damon would do what she asked, did he even have a choice?

Turning from her, he replaced his sunglasses and smiled, blowing away the worry and seriousness of the conversation. It did not suit him to be serious and brooding like his brother, and began walking back towards his car. He would leave Stefan to do caring boyfriend thing and make sure Elena was safe.

He felt eyes still on him and gave a jaunty wave to Caroline, seeing her turn her head determinedly away from him. Bonnie however kept her eyes upon him, her gaze cold.


	3. Yay, we are alive!

**A/N: **Thank you very much for the reviews guys, you're comments are very much appreciated!

**Only In Dreams**

**Chapter Three: Yay, we are alive!**

**Elena**

Elena returned to Caroline's "yay we are alive party" feeling numb. She couldn't hear what the others were saying, although she was willing to bet Caroline was still annoyed at having her picnic interrupted. She also imagined Matt trying to convince her that he was having a great time and that nothing was spoilt, even if he might secretly share Caroline's sentiments. After a while her friends' voices came back to her and she found that Stefan's arm was around her shoulder.

Smiling at him, but knowing it would take much more than a smile to take that worried look from his face, Elena took one of Caroline's strawberries lest she think her efforts had gone to waste.

Elena suddenly was reminded that she was not the only one that had been suffering this week. Caroline had spent two days in the hospital, undergoing scans and tests before she had been sent home without an answer for why she had been taken there in the first place. Elena was sorry that she had not been able to see past her own fears in order to ask her friend how she was. How could she have been so wrapped up in herself? The worry over her brother was now so sickening, that she couldn't even imagine feeling anything less. Had she been this frightened before Damon had decided to show up? The short answer was no.

"Sorry I haven't been on this planet this week guys," Elena said, "I should have asked you how you are Caroline."

Caroline shook her head.

"It's OK Elena, I mean, it's understandable," Caroline said, still smiling. Elena couldn't tell if she was really OK, or if Caroline was just saying so because she was in company. But Elena did not want to leave here with bad feeling, especially since it seemed a dark cloud had fallen over them once more.

Taking another strawberry Elena caught Bonnie's eye and couldn't understand what she saw there. Was she angry? Concerned? They had not discussed what had happened on Founder's Day, and until now that had suited Elena fine. It was as if her world had been on pause for the last week, now it seemed Damon had started the world moving once again, and everything was flooding back.

"Stefan I need to go home," Elena said quietly, although she knew the rest of them could hear her.

Stefan was on his feet and helping her stand before Elena could blink.

"Oh but Elena," Caroline protested sounding genuinely disappointed.

Elena gave her an apologetic smile, but didn't feel like trying to come up with an explanation. She decided to let them come to their own conclusions. As she said her goodbyes, Elena let Stefan make some excuses for her, and allowed him to lead her to his car. As he opened the door for her, Elena heard Bonnie call her name.

"What is going on Elena?" Bonnie asked, her eyes concerned, but not kind. She looked at Stefan with a warning, and he backed off, walking around the car towards the driver's seat.

"Katherine is in Mystic Falls," Elena replied. She saw no point in hiding the truth from the one friend that would understand the importance of this small sentence. "Damon is going to get Jenna out of town."

"You are trusting Damon?" Bonnie asked sceptically.

"Yes, I trust Damon to do that," Elena said, tired of being cross-examined. "Just be careful OK, Katherine looks just like me… I'll call you."

Elena continued to stare forwards at the road disappearing beneath the car. She already knew that Stefan was driving fast, faster than she would have along this road, but still she felt they were going too slow. Had Damon reached Aunt Jenna yet? Had he managed to compel her to leave town with him? What would he tell her? Would she be happy to be going?

Elena felt restless, and wished she had gone straight home with Damon. She didn't know why she had lingered at school.

**Stefan**

He watched Elena from the corner of his eye. The strawberry she had taken from the picnic was at her lips, but she seemed too distracted to remember to eat it. Her free hand was in her hair, twisting her dark locks into spirals.

"Jenna will be alright," Stefan said, trying to fill the heavy silence. "Damon will be there already." But this didn't appear to offer her any comfort. He could see how tense she was, her foot twitching at the end of her crossed legs.

As soon as he stopped the car, Elena had opened the door and was already hurrying towards her house. Stefan lingered behind her, looking into the surrounding trees, hoping that he would sense nothing watching him back. He could hear Elena calling her aunt from within the house, and heard Damon mumbling something in reply, which Stefan was unable to hear. He entered the house and heard movements upstairs.

He found Damon lounging on the sofa, his feet up on the table in front of him. He'd beaten them here by only a few minutes, but had already managed to make himself comfortable. With a beer in hand, he was flicking through TV channels. Stefan could hear Elena's voice upstairs, but did not try to listen to what she was saying, as long as he could hear her footsteps across the floor above he knew she was OK. Then he took a seat next to Damon.

"Where will you take her?" Stefan asked.

"Why does that matter?" Damon asked lazily, "Elena trusts me to get her aunt out of town, isn't that enough for you?"

Stefan didn't reply. He wasn't sure he could listen to anymore of Damon's sarcastic taunting when it came to the subject of Elena. If he had wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face, Stefan would have said Elena only trusted him because she was desperate. But Stefan held his tongue, if only for Elena's sake. If Damon thought Elena needed and wanted his help, he was more likely to comply.

"Oh, hello Stefan," Jenna said as she appeared in the lounge with a suitcase. "I'm glad you're here. Damon is taking me out of town for a few days, I'd forgotten there were a few things I needed to do. You will look after Elena won't you, while I'm gone?"

"Of course," Stefan said. Although he did not always agree with the way Damon used his powers so casually, in this instance he envied him the ability to be the hero.

He watched Elena drag the suitcase to the door, knowing that Damon was listening as closely as he was, even if he was looking at the TV. Jenna followed into the hall, checking through her handbag as she walked.

**Elena**

It seemed so strange. Aunt Jenna looked completely unaffected by Damon's mind trick, and Elena wondered if it was nice to lose all of the stress and worry of the last week.

"Are you sure you're OK?" Elena asked, desperately searching her aunt's face. She wanted to know what Damon had said to her, to make her so calm.

"Of course I'm OK," Jenna answered smiling. "I know that you'll be safe here with Stefan, and Damon assured me that Mr Saltzman is going to look in on you. If there is any news…" Jenna held up her phone. "I'll be one phone call away."

Elena smiled, as weird as it was, she didn't want to say anything to change Jenna's mind. She gave her aunt a hug, and then realised that Damon was already beside her.

"Let me get this for you," he said, taking hold of the suitcase and heading towards the door. Elena followed him outside.

"You won't let me down, will you?" She asked as they walked together towards the car.

Elena thought for a split second that he looked hurt at that comment, but the moment was so brief she was sure that she had imaged it. How could there be anything but that smirk on his face?

"Have I ever let you down?"

Elena paused for a moment.

"Yes," she replied unsure. Was he teasing her again?

Damon rolled his eyes as he stowed the suitcase in the car. Elena felt her heart skip a beat. Why couldn't he ever just give her a straight answer? Why was he always making her hang on his every word? Forever hoping to hear something she was sure she never would. He was so close to her now, holding the door open for Jenna, slamming it closed once she was in the car.

Elena jumped when he took her hand. She thought for a moment he was going to kiss it, but instead felt something pressed into the underside of her fingers. Shocked, her hand clamped around whatever it was that Damon was offering her, and she stepped back.

"Trust me Elena," he said as he made his way around the car.

"I will, I mean… I do."

Elena couldn't read him as he looked at her now.

"No you don't," he replied before joining Jenna and starting the car.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Jenna called out of the window as they started moving. "Take care, love you!"

Elena raised her hand in an unhappy wave, unable to shake the feeling of fear that crept over her. She squeezed the tiny object in her hand, and felt a flush of colour come to her cheeks, it felt like a ring. Then Stefan's arm was around her, and she shoved the ring into her pocket and smiled up at him.

"Let's go in," Elena said at last.


	4. A Broken Spell

**A/N: **Oh boy, has this and the following chapter been difficult to write. So many directions to go in, just need to get it right, and not be weird. Thank you for the reviews guys!

**Chapter Four: A Broken Spell**

**Elena**

It was strange to have the house so quiet, there were no creaks from footsteps upstairs, no radio playing in the kitchen. Even the TV had been turned off making Elena feel uncomfortable in her own home. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around. She didn't even know where to go. Maybe she should start packing up some of her things? She didn't want to stay here if Katherine could just walk into her house at anytime. She'd rather stay at the boarding house with Stefan, it felt like the more sensible thing to do, even if logically she knew she was no safer there than in her own home.

She considered asking Bonnie if she could sleep at her house, but wouldn't be able to be alone with Stefan there, and that seemed the most important thing at the moment.

"I'll just been a few minutes," Elena said ascending the stairs.

She walked across the landing, trying not too look at Jeremy's door, since she knew behind it the door would be empty. The floorboard creaked as she crossed the threshold into her room, and she stopped for a moment, leaning against the now closed door.

Damon's gift felt as if it was burning in her pocket, and she had to clasp her hands together to stop herself from reaching in and pulling it free. After a deep breath, she allowed her shaking hand to dip into her pocket and return with a tiny ring of silver. Turning it round, she found it transformed into a heart, the dainty silver twisting into the pretty shape before returning to the delicate band.

Elena stared at the ring, as it lay in the middle of her outstretched hand. This was not an antique; it would have no other memories than the one's she gave it, no other connotations. This was something new, just for her. Elena's heart skipped a beat as she realised that this was not an opportunist gift, not something Damon had happened to own previously, and just decided to press into her hand on a whim. This had been purposely bought for her. She wondered whether she might have felt more comfortable with some kind of family heirloom. The idea of Damon buying a gift, especially for her, made her feel giddy and strange.

Without thinking, she slid the ring onto the middle finger of her left hand. Elena then collected her belongings and stowed them into a bag, every now and then the ring catching her eye. She blushed. How did Damon know to choose this ring for her? It was if he had known exactly what she would like, something elegant, simple… no, it just had to be coincidence. It couldn't be anything more. Elena couldn't allow it be anything more.

"OK, let's go," Elena said as she found Stefan in the lounge. "I don't want to stay here, not when it's so empty."

**Bonnie**

The candles flickered as her nervous breath caught them. She had been busy before, looking through Gram's spellbook for answers, for help, then her mind had been occupied with setting up her candles and preparing the room. Now that she was sat before the fireplace, it's flames reaching up towards the chimney; she found her breath was shaky. She wasn't too sure that she wanted to do this anymore. She had been so sure when she had left school, there had been no doubts… but now…

Elena's face appeared before her eyes. Bonnie had seen the way Damon had held her, the way he had looked at her and the way she had stared back, wide eyed, unable to escape. Bonnie couldn't allow Elena to grow close to Damon. She wasn't stupid, she could see as plain as anyone how much Elena found herself drawn to Damon, and how he changed when she was around him. Whenever Elena needed help, there was Damon, unable to turn his back, unable to walk away.

But Elena's trouble stemmed from the Salvatore brother's and the difference between them was easy to read. Stefan would always allow Elena to be free; he would allow her to walk away if she decided to. But Damon wanted to consume her, and if she allowed him too close, then he would never let her go. Damon was too dangerous. Bonnie couldn't let him win.

Taking a shaky breath, she closed her eyes and held her hands out towards the flames. There were two photos on the floor, one from a newspaper and one glossy and shining. Elena's eyes were full of laughter from the glossy card; it had been taken years before she had ever heard the name Salvatore. The second photo was from a newspaper article about Miss Mystic Falls, which showed Elena standing with Damon Salvatore.

Bonnie reached for the photos. She had been speaking to the flames, and now she held the photos up above the fire. Suddenly she stopped speaking, concentrated her energies and said:

"Make him a good man, make him see, let him realise what he must do…"

Bonnie jumped as her phone rang, splitting the air with its shrill tune. The photos fell from her shocked hands, and drifted to the ground. Refusing to leave her place at the fire, Bonnie closed her eyes and let the phone ring itself into silence. Once it quietened, she looked around for the pictures and found only Elena and Damon.

Collecting her thoughts she continued. Having not moved, she had not broken her spell, even if one of the pictures had vanished.

"Let him realise what he must do, that he must leave, and never return."

Bonnie stood. She wondered whether the spell would work. It felt odd that something so old and mystical could exist despite being interrupted by something so normal as the phone. Blowing out the candles, Bonnie walked towards the phone, she knew it would ring again and she knew who it would be.

"Hello Elena," she said, picking up the receiver after the first ring.

**Damon**

Jenna had fallen asleep, her head resting against the glass. As Damon pulled up to the motel, and parked outside of the long line of rooms, he stared at her with a confused feeling. What was he doing here with this woman, when he would give everything just to turn around and drive back to Elena? How was he going to keep himself here, with a woman that was under his compulsion, who if in her right senses would be running in the other direction? He could see Jenna's expression, shocked, disapproving in his mind, how she had looked at him when she had opened the door to find him embracing the impostor Elena on her doorstep. That look of disappointment in her eyes.

Now when he looked at her all he saw was emptiness. He would rather have had her screaming at him all the way here, giving him the abuse he was sure he deserved, instead of her quietly trusting face turned away and lost to dreams.

Cutting the engine, Damon left Jenna sleeping and went to hire a room. He had been driving into the night, but could go no further. He wanted to rest, to think, to be still. He carried Jenna into a room, not wishing to wake her, and placed her as carefully on the bed as he could manage. Damon then sat in a chair and closed his eyes. There was a bottle of whiskey in his car. Maybe that would deaden some of the unwanted thoughts and feelings inside of him?

He drank with abandon, filling glass after glass, knocking it back without a thought. The TV in the shabby room had only a few channels, all showing terrible programs. But still, Jenna slept on, in her compelled and unworried state, and Damon joined her on the bed, thinking once again how strange this situation was. Really, if he had wanted to, he could have left her here and gone home. What did it matter what she did, as long as he had gotten her out of the town as promised? But as soon as the thought came to him, he suddenly he felt tired.

Damon didn't remember drinking as much as he had, it had gone down too easy and now he was feeling light headed for it. Maybe he ought to sleep too? Lying back, he felt something strange happening to him, as if he was drifting outside of his own body.

Powerless to stop the sensation, he lost control of himself, and found himself stood besides his own sleeping body. It did not feel like a dream, he was too aware, too assured that he had been expelled from his last remnants of a mortal coil. But what was happening? However before he could fashion an explanation, he was gone. The world flying past him at great speed, until he recognised small glimpses, the town hall, the boarding house, the stairs, Stefan's room, Stefan's bed, Stefan.

Damon sat bolt upright, but the body that obeyed him was not his own. He was his brother. He didn't know how he knew this, only that he did. Nothing about the way he felt was right. Flinging the blankets back, he hurried to the mirror. Stefan stared back at him. Stunned he touched his face. It felt unnatural to him, weird, different chin, different cheekbones. He touched his hair and found it spiky under his fingers. This was magic, someone had been playing a game with him, and there was one pissed of little witch that came to mind. Nothing else could explain this.


	5. Saying No

**A/N:** Thank you for the support everyone! This chapter was pretty tricky to write, but I won't give anything away. The problem was balancing the two halves of Damon, the one that is reckless and selfish, and the one that cares about Elena. Bit of an odd dynamic going on here.

**Chapter Five: Saying No**

**Elena**

Elena had woken with a start. A quick glance at Stefan showed that he was still sleeping, and sliding out of bed as quietly as she could manage, she walked out into the colder air of the hallway and headed towards the bathroom. Cold water on her face had cleared her hazy mind, and she had caught sight of the silver heart still on her finger. She had frozen, staring at her own reflection as if she was staring at a stranger. Why had she worn it? She should have kept in her pocket, and the only hand it should have touched was Damon's when she returned it. But there it was, on her finger.

Elena stared at it now, whilst standing in the middle of Damon's bedroom, the door ajar behind her. There were clothes thrown carelessly over the back of a chair, and the blankets on the bed were thrown back. The curtains had not been pulled closed, because the keeper of them had not returned tonight. Instead the room was filled with moonlight from a cloudless sky. It was just as she had imagined it, not messy, just careless.

She didn't know why she had come in here, only that she would never have dared if she had known Damon could find out. She didn't even know what she would say to Stefan if he were to find her in here. That she had been sleepwalking? Got lost on the way to the bathroom? Looking for something warm to wear? She felt goosebumps forming on her bare legs and arms at the thought of being caught.

She walked towards the bed, imaging climbing in and spending the night there, but that was absurd. Instead she turned to the wardrobe and opened it. She pushed clothes along the rail, her hands lingering on the black suit, which Damon had been wearing the day they had danced together. She remembered how her heart had been dancing too that day, skipping a beat when he had touched her.

Elena stroked the fabric, far away in her own thoughts.

**Damon**

He watched her from the doorway, not breathing, not moving; she did not know he was there. He watched her walk to the wardrobe, and touch his suit jacket, her small hands running over the expensive fabric with a far away look in her eyes. Finally she moved, taking a black hooded jogging jacket out and pulling it over the tight vest top she had been wearing.

Damon continued to stare, the pale light of the moon illuminating her exposed legs, and he traced them upwards from her bare feet to the frilly line of her dark red panties. She had never looked so small and vulnerable to him, with her dark hair loose and hanging over her pale face as she zipped the jacket closed. He could barely believe that she had managed to keep him chasing her, always one step out of reach, always determinedly saying no. She looked too fragile right now to be a fighter.

Backing out of the room, and across the landing before Elena had even turned around, he hid in the shadows and watched her pass by him for the stairs. Her bare feet padding softly on the dark carpet, looking even tinier now swamped in his clothes. She descended the stairs in a lazy manner, almost as if she was dreaming, her thoughts far away from the large, dark and empty house.

Damon followed her like a ghost, keeping to the shadows. He didn't want to startle her, and for now it was nice just to watch her. The sooner she knew he was awake, the sooner he would have to confront the fact that he was trapped in Stefan's body, and it just wasn't as good as his.

Stefan was slower than he was, sluggish where he was brutally fast. There was a dull ache in his teeth too, and knew it had been a long time since Stefan had hunted. Ignoring the feeling, Damon continued down the stairs, and found Elena standing in front of a bookcase, looking for something.

Her fingers brushed over a few covers before she pulled a book free, and she walked to the sofa and curled around a cushion. Damon watched her, taking in every line and curve of her face, her long eyelashes tipped downwards towards the page, a serene expression across her features. She turned a page, and continued to read.

There had been many times recently that he had found himself watching Elena, always unable to look away. The more normal the task, the more interesting she was. Seeing her so calm, was comforting when their own relationship was always so unpredictable.

Damon hurried back up the stairs, and stepped purposefully on a creaky floorboard, before continuing down trying to look as if he had just woken up. Elena turned to look at him, and Damon almost faltered at the welcoming smile she gave him, telling him instantly that she was happy to no longer be alone.

"You couldn't sleep too?" she asked, shutting the book.

Damon took a seat in a chair opposite her.

"You shouldn't read in this light," he said, looking at the tiny lamp Elena had turned on. "We have enough light-bulbs in here, you could turn a few more on."

Elena smiled once more.

"What, and risk you being shocked by my tired eyes, and unglamorous appearance?" she teased. "I don't think so."

Damon grinned and turned on another lamp.

"Oh, I see what you mean, absolutely hideous!" he deadpanned, before switching the light off again.

"You're not supposed to agree!" Elena replied, pretending to be offended. "I'll have to start wearing my thicker skin if you begin insulting me too."

Damon knew she was referring to the way he couldn't seem to walk past her without trying to annoy her. If she wasn't so much fun, he wouldn't bother.

"I think you are beautiful," Damon said, joining her on the sofa.

She held his gaze for a while, before leaning forward and kissing the corner of his mouth. Damon didn't move, just allowed her to do what she wished. Her touch was tender and loving, but it wasn't for him, and he felt as if he had stolen something from her. But it was nice to be honest for once.

Elena pulled his arm around her, and climbed into his embrace.

**Elena**

For a moment Elena had expected the teasing to continue, just like the conversations she tended to have with Damon, but she knew Stefan didn't enjoy talking in double meanings. With Stefan now beside her, his arm around her, and his kiss on the top of her head, she wondered how she could even be thinking of Damon at a time like this. Or why she should be thinking about him at all?

She flipped the book open and continued the story. She felt Stefan looking at the page too, until he moved for the TV remote. Elena didn't remember the last time she had done something so normal as lounging around on a sofa. Surely something would spoil this soon?

"So," Damon said breaking the calm. "My clothes not good enough for you?"

It took a moment for Elena to realise what he was talking about, until she remembered she had stolen her top from Damon. Had that really happened tonight? It seemed like forever ago. She'd forgotten everything in the consuming story she was reading.

"Oh, well, actually I was looking for evidence of the past… you know 70's disco suits, crushed velvet smoking jackets, MC Hammer pants…" Elena replied trying to sound serious. "But I guess you've both hidden them too well."

**Damon**

Damon smiled. He liked Elena's quick sense of humour. He supposed he was doing a good job at pretending to be Stefan, or at least Elena was buying this watered down version of himself. He'd noticed that Elena was wearing the ring he had given her, but he had decided not to mention it. She might have already had that conversation with Stefan and it would be odd to mention it again. Surely he'd be forced out of here soon anyway? It seemed logical that whilst he was hijacking Stefan, his brother was peacefully babysitting hundreds of miles away, with enough whisky in his system to keep him quite for a while.

Therefore there would be time enough for questions once he was where he belonged again.

"No, I was cold and I didn't want to wake you up," Elena said.

Liar, Damon thought. But he let it go. Stefan was unlikely to want to make Elena uncomfortable, so Damon considered Elena's actions in silence. What did she mean by sneaking into his room in the dead of night, wearing his clothes, and wearing his ring? He knew that when she finally returned that jacket, it would smell just like her.

Elena curled closer to him, her leg snaking over his lap. She looked up at him and smiled.

Damon wasn't quite sure how he was managing to keep his hands to himself. All he knew was how much he was enjoying just sitting here with Elena, doing something as mundane was watching late night TV. She'd never been so relaxed in his company, and if she was the one touching him then he didn't need to feel guilty about enjoying this little piece of heaven. Bonnie was bound to realise what had happened sooner or later, his brother would come racing back, and then he'd be shut out into the cold once more.

Except that he felt guilty and that was new. Even a few days ago, Damon would have had no problem with taking advantage of this situation. He was pretty sure Elena would agree to anything right now. He could be making love to her on the sofa, rather than just sitting on it. But fulfilling his own needs and wants just didn't make him feel whole anymore. It only took one look down at Elena to realise that doing anything to hurt her would never be worth it. No matter how much he wanted her.

She'd never forgive him, and Damon was pretty sure even his own broken soul wasn't cold enough for that. So TV it was, and there was something to be said for just doing nothing with someone you cared about. He supposed it had been a long time since he had felt this way. Where he needed nothing from the woman in his arms, other than for her just to be there.

So he would give up the only opportunity he might ever have to touch her, for the small hope that one-day she might come to him. And be content to steal just this tiny part of his brother's paradise, and hold Elena close, pretending that it all belonged to him. Feeling warm and content, he closed his eyes.

Damon woke with a crick in his neck, and wondered why he'd thought it was good idea to sleep on the sofa. Opening an eye, he found Elena's legs were over his lap, and she was also stirring.

"Take me to bed next time," she mumbled.

"Now that's a promise," Damon replied feeling less than special now that the light was trying to claw it's way into the room. He felt Elena pull her legs off him, and stretch.

"I'm going to shower," she announced, stretching her neck side to side.

Damon switched the TV off, and stepped outside. He really needed to take care of Stefan's hunger pangs, especially since Elena was still insisting on walking about in very little. Maybe he could find something lurking in the early morning dew? He supposed he shouldn't return Stefan's body with fuel in it the boy couldn't handle, so Mystic Fall's wildlife would have to do.


	6. A Dream Ended

**A/N: **Thank you once again for the support and comments everyone! :) And if anyone is wondering, yes I have a plan for Jeremy.

**Chapter Six: A Dream Ended**

**Stefan**

It was pretty safe to say that he felt terrible; there was a dry taste in his mouth and his head felt fuzzy. For a moment it was painful to open his eyes and when he did, the room was unfamiliar. He closed his eyes again and tried to concentrate. He reached a hand out for Elena, but then found the bed beside him was empty and cold. Puzzled, he tried opening his eyes once more, and this time he had to face the fact that he was not dreaming.

He was in a motel room, that was certain. He wasn't here alone, that was also certain. A suitcase was open at the end of the bed, and the shower was running. Looking down at himself, it didn't take long to realise what had happened, shocking as it was. On the nightstand was an almost empty bottle of whisky, and if he didn't already have enough to curse Damon for, this was another gripe. He was surprised that he was still able to function after so much alcohol, but he supposed Damon's body had had a good hundred years to become immune.

And why was he in Damon's body? He had no idea. But just as he stood, Jenna opened the bathroom door, her hair was wet and she was covered only in a towel. A sickening thought struck him then... Did Damon and Jenna…?

"We didn't… did we," she asked, her face desperate for his reply.

Stefan shook his head.

"No," he replied. He wasn't hundred percent sure nothing other than sleeping had been going on in here, but for one thing he was still dressed. And Stefan couldn't think of any reason for Damon to think that would be a good idea, no matter how much whisky he'd consumed.

Damon was too obsessed with Elena, Setfan knew that much was true. But then he felt sick suddenly. How long had he been partaking of this body swap game? And if he was here, Damon was probably back at Mystic Falls, doing whatever he liked to Elena. She would never know. Damon was unlikely to suddenly announce that they should sit on opposite sides of the room.

Stefan was torn. He didn't know whether he could trust Damon or not.

His gut twisted at the thought of Damon touching Elena, and her not realising anything was wrong. Of her returning his affection. Of them lying in bed together.

But how could anyone justify taking advantage of someone like that? Even Damon surely could not, even if in his history he had done far worse. Stefan desperately wanted to believe Elena was safe, but the sickening feeling that was coming over him, told another story. He couldn't leave Elena to a chance that Damon might do the right thing for once. He had to get back to Mystic Falls.

He reached for Damon's jacket and felt the pockets for his phone. Searching for Elena's number, he called and waited. Pacing the small room. There was no reply. Looking through the list once more, he called Alaric Saltzman.

"Urgh Damon, it's Saturday morning, why are you waking me up?" was the response Stefan got once the phone was answered.

Stefan checked his watch, then realised Damon would never apologise, so didn't bother.

"Look, we've got a problem… I'm in a motel with Jenna…"

"You're what?"

"Look, if you want me to explain!" Stefan said, he didn't even have to try and be impolite, his worries were running away with him.

Mr Saltzman didn't protest again, which made Stefan think that most of Damon's phone calls probably went in a similar fashion. He walked to the table, which held the TV and found a leaflet about the area. He gave Saltzman the address.

"There is going to be trouble in town. Elena's uncle won't be the only victim in Mystic Falls, and you know that Jeremy is missing. So I made a promise to Elena to get Jenna out, and I have. But now I need to get back…" Stefan explained, hoping Saltzman was keeping up with his story.

"So you want me to drive out there and keep Jenna out of town?" Mr Saltzman clarified, although he still sounded pretty sceptical, as if he suspected Damon of joking.

"Yes," Stefan was sure Damon would have had some kind of rude or snappy remark to make following this exchange, but he couldn't clear his mind of Elena, and what might have happened. Maybe he should have put more effort into pretending to be Damon, because Saltzman didn't seem to be hurrying to get here.

"Well, you know the address, I've got to go…" Stefan said, trying to sound uncaring.

"Wait…"

Stefan hung up, walked to the bathroom. He knocked on the door loudly. Jenna reappeared, halfway through the process of drying her hair.

"Alaric Saltzman is coming to meet you here," Stefan said. He didn't want to try compelling her, since he was afraid he might cause her mind some damage if he started messing with things he was unsure of. He hoped that whatever Damon had told her in the first place, was still working. "So you need to wait for him here. OK?"

Jenna nodded.

"Shall I get you that shirt?" she asked.

Stefan paused.

"Er, yeah, thanks…" he replied. Jenna nodded and shut the door on him again, and Stefan turned and left. So, Jenna was shopping for shirts, that was safe, and trust Damon to give her a task which also benefited him.

**Elena**

Mystic Grill was busy for an early Saturday morning, but Stefan had managed to find a table, and a good one at that by the window, even if the view wasn't so great. The day was a grey one, the drizzle in the air hanging on to people's hair and clothes in tiny droplets. They had only been outside a few seconds, but Elena already felt as if her clothes were damp. She couldn't stand this kind of weather. It made everyone miserable.

As the clouds continued to gather outside the window, Elena smiled at Stefan.

"I guess we made it through the night," she said taking a sip of her orange juice. "You know, I didn't get bitten, you didn't get tied up, set on fire, or shot…that's what our weekends usually consist of."

"I guess so. Nothing says a good night, like not being shot," Damon replied with a smirk. Elena considered him for a moment, then returned to looking out of the window. She watched his reflection.

"Are you OK? You seem a bit…" Elena stopped. She couldn't quiet put her finger on it.

"A bit…" Damon prompted her. He'd grown bored of pretending to be Stefan now, as much as he liked sitting with Elena, having to continually pretend to be dark and brooding was growing increasingly annoying. Especially since Elena was practically begging to be flirted with, her wide eyes hanging on to every word he said.

The sooner Bonnie decided to put this right, the sooner he could go back to trying to draw Elena in on his own terms.

Elena shrugged.

"Just different. You don't seem all that worried about Katherine being around, I mean here we are having breakfast in the middle of town…" Elena stopped and looked at him again, obviously waiting for him to jump in and defend his actions. "Not that I mind… I just figured we'd be lying low for a while."

"Katherine will find us wherever we go in the town," Damon replied, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "I won't hide and wait for her to find me. If she wants a fight, I'm right here."

Elena frowned. Something was up, but she couldn't work it out. If she had closed her eyes, she could of imagined herself sitting here with Damon. But that was crazy. Stefan was obviously under just as much pressure as she was about Katherine, it wasn't fair to think he'd be his normal self.

"I thought she would go after Damon first…" Elena replied quietly.

"Why, is that what you would do?" Damon snapped, then remembered where and who he was, and he reeled his hostility back in. Elena's comment had caught him off guard, and he had no idea why he had just reacted in such a way. The sooner everything was back to normal, the better. "Sorry, all this talk of Katherine is making me nervous."

Elena shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep talking about it. But since you asked, yes, that is exactly what I would do," she replied, now unable to keep from sounding bitter herself. Stefan looked at her with an expression she couldn't read.

**Damon**

"Why?" he asked. He was intrigued, what kind of ideas had Elena formed about them? What truths could he persuade her to spill?

"Because Damon called her out. Because he's been trying to 'save' her for years, and now he's turned his back on her. He's no longer under her control, she's lost every power she even had over him, and if I've learnt anything about her, she won't allow him to hate her. She'd rather he be dead."

Damon stared at her. Her uncanny knowledge of Katherine's personality had unnerved him. There was also an unspoken truth lingering between them now. That both Katherine and Elena saw him as the bigger threat. The one to be destroyed first. He had a sudden chill, as he realised he needed to get out of this body fast.

Damon couldn't let Stefan take a beating for him. If Katherine was gunning for him first, then Damon wanted to be the one to take the bullets. After all, this was _their_ fight; Stefan was, as always, simply dragged into the middle of it all.

He was about to suggest that they call in on Bonnie, when someone unexpected stepped into the Grill. Elena followed his gaze, and her chair scraped across the floor as she stood in shock.

"Jeremy!" she gasped.


	7. Secrets Shattered

**A/N: **I'm hoping this the chapter you've all been waiting for :) Thank you once again everyone for the support!

**Chapter Seven: Secrets Shattered**

**Damon**

As soon as Damon had seen Jeremy, he had known something was strange. The way the boy was suddenly happy to see Elena, and the way he seemed to draw the eyes of all of those around him. Elena didn't seem to notice, she simply embraced him and wouldn't let him go.

"Jeremy, I thought you were dead!" she exclaimed, searching his face.

"Calm down Elena, I'm not dead yet," he said with a smirk. "But I might die of _thirst_."

Damon frowned. Why had he directed that comment to him? As if it had a double meaning. Did Stefan know something he didn't? But Elena took the words at face value, and rather than look for a waitress, hurried to the bar herself.

"Well," Jeremy said sliding into Elena's chair. "This is interesting."

"I could say the same," Damon replied. He was listening hard, but he could not hear a heartbeat from his new dining companion. It was clear to him now, what was wrong with Jeremy, he was _dead_.

"So, what happened?" Jeremy asked.

Damon couldn't keep the confusion from his face. Surely Jeremy didn't know? How could he? Vampire as he was now, how could he see through Bonnie's broken spell?

"I'm thinking magic," Jeremy continued. "And I'm thinking Elena's friend Bonnie. Have you told Elena? Does she know she's having breakfast with the wrong Salvatore?"

His last words stung, the wrong Salvatore. He didn't even have a name anymore, he was just the other brother, the wrong one.

"What do you think?" Damon replied.

"I think not. Elena would never be anywhere near you if she knew, she's too righteous. But you know that."

"No, I don't," Damon said, wondering why he was allowing himself to be spoken to like this. The last time he had seen this boy, he'd been on the verge of breaking down. He looked down at Jeremy's hands, and recognised Anna's sunlight ring. So he'd been scavenging in the burnt building.

"Meaning, she could be crazy for you, and she'd still stay away. Because that's Elena, always doing the right thing…" Jeremy turned to look at his sister, now parting with her money for a Coke.

Damon watched her smile over her shoulder at them, happiness in her eyes again. Was Jeremy right? Could Elena be hiding what she really felt, simply because she was too compassionate and kind-hearted to hurt Stefan, even if it meant denying herself what she wanted? It wasn't too difficult to imagine, since she seemed to surround herself with misery. Or was that just wishful thinking that Elena might feel more than she showed?

Sometimes Damon thought he saw more than just friendship in her eyes. There was always concern for him, and that was an emotion you couldn't pretend.

"Here you are Jer," Elena said placing the Coke in front of him. She continued to look at him as if she was afraid he wasn't real. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know, around. I came back when I heard the news about uncle John… I'm sorry, I guess it was a bad time to take off."

"I'm just glad that you're back," Elena replied. It didn't seem as though the news had really settled in for her yet.

"And, this is awkward, so I'm going to go away now. But don't worry," Jeremy said, taking his drink with him. "I'm sticking around town. I'm not going anywhere."

Damon caught once again Jeremy's double meaning. If Damon didn't tell Elena what had happened, then Jeremy would, and he would take great delight in shattering this little pretence and play Damon had worked hard not to reveal to Elena.

"Prehaps we should go," Damon said, not liking the fact that Jeremy had something to hold over him. But two could play at that game.

Elena didn't protest, she seemed happy to do whatever he suggested. She glanced at Jeremy and smiled.

"I should phone Aunt Jenna, let her know he's home. She'd want to know," Elena said.

"Sure," Damon agreed. "You do that… in the car. I'll pay the bill." He handed her the car keys.

"Oh," Elena said surprised. "Well, OK."

Damon watched her touch Jeremy's shoulder as she reached him.

"Jeremy, will you promise to come the boarding house before you go home today? There is something we need to talk about," Elena said.

Damon listened closely, wondering how all of this mess would ever be resolved. It was pretty clear already that the only one that would get hurt was Elena. No matter how you looked at it, the only one who didn't know, was being played by them all.

Once she was gone, Damon threw some money onto the table, and then joined Jeremy at his.

"If you're waiting for an invite into the Gilbert house, you'll be waiting a long time. Elena won't be going home," Damon said.

"Because you say so?"

"Because it's unsafe. I'm sure I don't need to explain who Katherine is… not since you made a very inconvenient discovery of Elena's diary," Damon continued. Jeremy had always had a bad attitude when it came to him, but Damon supposed he couldn't really blame him. Damon had been a main feature in everything that had gone wrong in Jeremy's life recently.

"No I don't need you to tell me who she is. I already met the psychotic bitch, when she snuck into my room and snapped my neck," Jeremy spat. "I might have survived, I didn't take _that_ many pills. But she made damn sure I died too that night."

Damon stared at him. For once in his life, Damon was speechless. He didn't know why Jeremy hadn't died if this was true. Had Katherine turned him?

"You better come with us then, because I'm promising you this, that bitch is going to die."

**Stefan**

His foot was pressed hard on the gas, the speedometer was creeping higher and higher. He was approaching Mystic Falls now, yet he had no intentions of slowing down. Speeding through the town, he headed towards the boarding house with a fury he couldn't seem to control.

The drive back had given him time to conjure many unpleasant images in his head, and now he barely knew what was fancy and what was real. He was certain that something must have happened to Elena. He couldn't trust Damon. Not when it came to her.

Slamming the car into a stop, he shot towards the boarding house, hearing voices inside. Damon's body was fast, faster than his, and he almost felt dizzy at his own incredible speed. Flinging the front door open, he stopped abruptly as he confronted his own face; Damon was stood waiting for him.

Elena was looking at him in surprise from the sofa, and her brother Jeremy was equally as shocked.

**Damon**

"I was expecting you sooner," Damon said. Although he had been preparing himself for this moment, it still didn't make it any less odd.

He barely had time to raise his arms to protect himself, before Stefan had hit him hard. Elena had screamed, as Damon was sent reeling backwards, blood dripping from his nose.

My God, Damon thought, his own body was fast, but what kind of idiot attacked themselves? Stefan was going to be the owner of this broken nose later.

"Damon! What the hell are you doing?" Elena screamed.

"I'm not Damon!" Stefan yelled, advancing forward. His movement made Jeremy vacate his seat for a safer distance. "That's Damon!" Stefan added, pointing.

**Elena**

Elena didn't know what to think. Stefan was still covering his bloody face, but he wasn't disputing this wild claim. She tried to look into his eyes, but he wouldn't face her.

"Is this true?" she asked. She didn't know who to direct her question to, or who to turn to for help.

**Damon**

"I'll kill you if…" Stefan warned. For once Damon believed him. He even believed he might do it right now, kill him and just continue living in his new stronger, faster form.

"I never touched her," Damon replied, blood dripping into his mouth. He swallowed, feeling his nose halting its flow, clotting up within his sinuses.

Elena looked at him with tears in her eyes, and now he was sorry he hadn't been honest with her. He'd never wanted to see that look on her face.

"No, he never touched me," Elena affirmed, although it looked as if she was struggling to keep herself from crying. "He's telling the truth."

"So," Damon said, no longer bothering to keep the sarcasm from his voice. "Although I had a nice time with you Elena, I'm pretty bored of being good right now. So I say we get the witch over, get this little problem sorted out, before Jeremy gets the munchies," Damon said, taking a seat. He dabbed at his nose with his sleeve and winced.

"What are you talking about, why are you bringing Jeremy into this?" Stefan asked.

"Oh, didn't you know? Jeremy's a vampire too, watch…"

Jeremy flinched as a bullet planted itself in his stomach. He staggered backwards towards the fireplace. This time Elena was silent, shocked beyond any kind of response. The sound of the bullet seemed to linger in the silence.

"Who the hell plans something like that?" Jeremy demanded, trying to cover the hole in his abdomen.

Damon was willing to bet that the bullet stung like a bitch, but Jeremy was taking it like a champ. At least now the boy didn't need to have an awkward conversation with Elena. Although it looked as if she was about to pass out. Stefan was at her side, and she was white, ready to fall. He guided her gently to the sofa.

"Was that necessary?" Stefan asked, as Jeremy fished the bullet out of the bloody mess that was his stomach. The boy seemed fascinated by the sight of his own blood on his hands, and was resisting the urge to lick his fingers.

Elena leant forward and looked a grey sick colour. Her limbs were shaking and her eyes wide.

"I need to be alone…" she said, standing on unsteady legs. "Don't follow me."

Damon watched her climb the stairs. He could see tears streaming from her eyes, and for once he felt a heavy weight bear down on his shoulders.


	8. Jeremy's Story

**A/N: **Once again, thank you everyone for being so supportive!

**Chapter Eight: Jeremy's story**

**Jeremy**

He was quickly gulping down some blood, lovingly donated by someone and sealed conveniently in a little bag, complete with a serial number and blood type. He could feel the bullet wound healing away into nothing, and it had almost been worth it for the free snack.

"I'll go to Elena," Stefan said walking to the stairs.

"No, I will," Damon replied, standing also. He'd refused to heal himself, on principal.

Jeremy dropped the empty blood bag onto the table. This was all very confusing. He didn't understand how he knew Damon and Stefan were not in their right places. They just didn't feel like they belonged in their skins, it was like an extra sense, which Jeremy felt uncomfortable with. What he did know for sure was that he didn't always need his eyes anymore, in order to see this new world.

"_I'll_ check on Elena," Jeremy said preventing an argument. "You should call Bonnie, and get this sorted out."

No one argued with him, and Jeremy crept up the stairs listening for Elena. It did not take him long to locate her, sniffing and trying to hold back her sobs behind a closed door. She was in Stefan's room, and as he opened the door he found her face down in a pillow.

She froze as she sensed someone behind her, and her hand came up to wipe at her face. She looked around slowly.

"Oh," she said, pushing herself into a sitting position. "I'm sorry Jer, I shouldn't have left you downstairs."

"I'm fine."

She sniffed again, and tried to compose herself.

"Damon shot you," she stated, her voice weak through her tears.

"Yeah," Jeremy concurred. "He's an ass."

"He's more than that," Elena replied bitterly. "He's a lying, secret keeping, total jerk…"

"Who by the sounds of it never took advantage of the unbelievably weird body switch thing. I mean like, ew, imagine if we…"

"Lets not go there Jer."

"But… OK. Look, mostly I hate Damon Salvatore, and _yes_ he shot me," Jeremy said with a roll of his eyes. "But I'm already dead…" he saw Elena flinch. "Would I make you feel happier if I put a bullet in _his_ gut? Because I could, if you wanted?"

**Elena**

Elena tried to keep the smile from her face. She didn't feel like laughing, but Jeremy was making it difficult. His happy tone was hard to ignore, and it was a long time since she had seen him so happy and at ease with the world. And despite his claims, she suspected that he had made peace with the Salavtore brother's, in a bizarre way.

"OK, but wait for them to switch back first please, I like my boyfriend bullet wound free," Elena replied.

She didn't know how Jeremy managed it, but he always been able to make her smile. Perhaps it was because she liked to see him happy, and that had been a rare commodity lately. She didn't know why, but Jeremy looked taller now, he looked as if he belonged and had an assured place in the world. Had it really taken him the act of dying to value living?

No matter what had happened, and what she had seen recently, wanting to die was not something Elena Gilbert could understand. But she was not in Jeremy's shoes, and didn't think it was her place to try and understand why he'd chosen this.

However that was assuming he had chosen to change. What if he had not? What if Katherine…

"Jeremy, did Katherine turn you?" Elena asked. She held her breath for the answer.

"No. It's a long story."

"Go on," Elena prompted. "I want to know."

**Jeremy**

Jeremy took a deep breath. It felt good to have so much air rushing into his lungs, clearing his head. He'd never noticed before. In fact there was so much he'd failed to notice through the unhappiness of the past few months. Like how tiny and fragile his sister was. How had she ever managed to 'look after him'? How could he have thought she was trying to control his life? She was the one that needed looking after, and he was sorry he had never noticed before.

"Before Anna died, she offered to turn me. She was frightened of this town, she wanted to turn me, and we would leave together. But I couldn't do it. I was sure then that I would make it through, that I would be OK. I'd made my peace with myself. So she gave me some of her blood, in a bottle. I didn't even think about it, I just threw it into a drawer," Jeremy explained, seeing Elena sit up straight and interested. "But when Damon told me she had died... I took a bunch of pills and drank the blood...I don't really know why I did it."

"You killed yourself?" Elena asked.

Jeremy shook his head.

"I didn't take enough," he replied. "I was lying there, unable to move, but alive. Then someone was in my room. I thought it was you. You came into my room and were talking to me. But I couldn't understand you. Then I realised that it wasn't you, and I was scared. I knew then I didn't want to die, but it was too late. She took hold of my head and snapped my neck. She never blinked. It was Katherine, I knew it must be, from your journal. She killed me."

"Did she know?"

"That I'd drunk Anna's blood? No, I don't think so. I think she was going to find Aunt Jenna next. I lay still, snapped, and I heard you calling me. Katherine ran past me then, and it looked as if she flew from the window. She must have jumped," Jeremy explained.

"Why didn't she kill me too?" Elena asked. "I was alone."

Jeremy shrugged.

"Maybe she didn't want to be found out just yet? Or maybe she thought you'd be with Stefan? Or maybe she wanted to scare you first?"

"By killing my family? Yeah, that'll work," Elena mumbled, Jeremy supposed her sarcasm was allowing her to deal with the seriousness of the situation. "What am I going to do? Stefan and Damon are not in the right places, which has to be something to do with Bonnie. Unless another witch is in town? Which can't be a good thing. And if it is Bonnie, then she has been lying to me too. Jenna is under compulsion, Damon's an ass, you're dead, and to top it all, Katherine is trying to kill everyone. I'd say she's succeeding in scaring me."

"You seem more pissed off about the Damon thing than anything else," Jeremy observed.

"Well, yeah, I am."

"Again the offer to shoot him is still on the table."

**Stefan**

He had decided to collect Bonnie himself. Now that he knew Jeremy was with Elena, and that she knew the truth, he no longer feared what Damon could do to her. As it happened, she had never really been in any danger, but it did not ease his mind. Damon had still stolen something from the both of them, and now Stefan would always be wondering.

What had they talked about? What had they done? He trusted Elena, but this was not a normal situation. She had not known. She could not be blamed for anything. It had been all Damon … This time.


	9. One fixed another Broken

**A/N**: Sorry for the long wait in between updates, but real life was calling! Thank you everyone who read, reviewed, faved and put this fic on their alert list. This is the final chapter of this fic. Not sure I achieved the Damon/Elena relationship I wanted, I created something angst-y instead. Thanks again!

**Chapter Nine: One fixed another broken **

**Bonnie**

Bonnie was looking at Damon, or rather Stefan with a suspicious eye as they drove through the town towards the boarding house. In her hand lay the charred remained of a photo, one that had once showed Elena's happy face. She wrapped her hand tight around it, feeling it crumple. She had known something hadn't been right with her spell.

How had Elena known to call, just at that very moment? It was if she had known Bonnie was interfering in her life. Or did the universe just love Damon Salvatore? When Bonnie had asked for him to become a 'good man' this hadn't been what she'd had in mind.

But magic was hard to tame, and the universe had decided to take her at her word. Damon had become a good man; he'd 'become' Stefan. Bonnie rolled her eyes. Would Mystic Falls never be free of him?

The scene that greeted Bonnie wouldn't have been unusual to her, if she hadn't known the truth. Elena was stood next to 'Stefan' in the living room, in front of the fireplace. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked tired and drawn. Her brother Jeremy, was also there, sitting on the sofa. He smiled at Bonnie.

"Hi," Jeremy greeted. "I figured this was all down to you."

"No, it was all because of Santa," Damon replied rolling his eyes. "Of course it's because of the witch."

Bonnie found it strange to here such words coming from Stefan's mouth. He was always so calm and collected. Again she realised the sooner this was put right, the better.

"I need a candle," Bonnie said, not bothering to make any small talk. She wanted this over, and she wanted to make sure Elena was OK. Following that, she wanted to go as far away from Damon Salvatore as possible.

"Whatever you need," Stefan said. Bonnie watched him look back at Elena as he went to fetch what she wanted.

**Elena**

She watched her friend hold her hands out over the candle, before reaching into her pocket for a scrap of what Elena thought was paper. She realised once it started burning between Bonnie's fingers that it was a photo of her. Bonnie didn't speak, just stared into the flame. But when she looked up, the air around them all seemed to move, and Stefan and Damon both raised their hands to their heads.

Damon sank to his knees before falling forwards onto the floor, whereas Stefan staggered to the sofa and slumped onto the cushions. They both closed their eyes as if they were sleeping.

**Damon**

He felt himself loosing control. He'd been unable to stay standing. He'd felt tired, and the feeling of slipping into unconsciousness had been overwhelming. Once again he had felt that strange floating sensation he had experienced before, and then he woke up within his right self.

He saw Stefan slowly pushing himself up from the floor and getting to his feet. Elena was cautiously moving toward him.

"Stefan," she was asking. "Are you … you?"

He looked bewildered as if he wasn't sure of the answer. Stefan looked at Damon as if waiting for him to affirm that he was OK, and back where he belonged.

"Well I'm fine, so don't worry about me," Damon said, flexing his hands and not being able to ignore the feeling of relief that swept over him.

Elena looked at him with an expression he couldn't read before she turned away. Bonnie had blown the candle flame out and the smoke was trailing up into the air. She was looking at him with the same cold eyes, no longer afraid of him. She knew her own power, and her eyes spoke clearly to him.

"Bonnie thank you," Elena said, "I don't know what would have happened…"

"Don't," Bonnie said shaking her head. "This was a spell gone wrong Elena, you don't need to thank me."

Damon frowned.

"What spell were you supposed to be casting?" he asked.

Bonnie refused to answer. She simply pulled her coat back on, grabbed her bag and insisted that Stefan take her back home. Damon watched Elena follow her trying to talk to her, but Bonnie was adamant that she was not going to stay.

Damon didn't know who Bonnie was more annoyed with, herself or him. But as she left, she seemed to take Elena's energy with her. Elena sat down on the sofa defeated and closed her eyes. For a moment Damon didn't know what to do.

He chose instead to sit opposite her and wait. Eventually she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"That wasn't what I was expecting," Elena said. "I thought it would be bit more dramatic."

"More dramatic than the fact your friend is trying to control our lives?" Damon replied.

The way Elena looked at him prevented him from saying anymore. She stood and walked towards the kitchen, he could see by the flick of her hair that he had succeeded in aggravating her. Only, he wasn't too sure how'd he'd managed it this time, the list of things he'd done recently was rather long, it could be anything.

Jeremy was looking at him also, with a questioning gaze. Damon leant back in his chair and ignored him. For a newborn vampire he was surprisingly unnerving, not appearing to be effected by the blood crave, like _he_ remembered being. Jeremy smirked at him and then followed Elena.

**Elena**

"I am so angry Jer," Elena said as she leant against a kitchen counter. She knew that Damon would still be able to hear her, but she no longer cared. Just as she no longer had to look at him.

She was finding it too difficult to make the past 24 hours make sense to her. Every which way she looked at it, something made her uncomfortable and yet, she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Elena you need to sort this little three-way thing out, because it's weird," Jeremy said walking towards the back door.

"What?"

"Just go yell at him or something," Jeremy answered before he left.

Elena felt herself tense. She was alone now with Damon. She couldn't run away from this, or bury her head in the sand. Jeremy was right, no matter how much she might have wanted to ignore it, and make excuses in her head, Elena knew, she needed to face him. Only, she was scared of what his answer might be. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the kitchen and found Damon waiting for her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Elena asked, but it came from her mouth in an accusing tone. "Or did you think I wouldn't mind?"

"You wouldn't have believed me."

"You wouldn't have wanted me to. It's always just a game to you isn't it? I really thought that we had something Damon; I thought we were real friends. But that obviously meant nothing to you!"

**Damon**

Damon looked away from her. He had seen her angry plenty of times, but it was first time he had ever felt guilty about his part. There was no other choice but to be truthful with her. She would never accept anything but the truth. He was tired of playing games with her. Elena was right, they did have something. Whatever it was between them was something he couldn't seem to escape.

"Elena, you would never have sat next to me if you had known the truth," Damon said. "Last night you read your book in my arms. Tell me you would have done that if you had known the truth," Damon demanded. He dared her to argue with him. Dared her to show her true feelings for him.

"Of course not."

"Of course not," Damon repeated. He held his hands up as if in surrender. "It was just nice OK, not to have to fight with you. That's all."

Elena frowned.

"You liked being with me last night?" Elena asked.

Damon smirked.

"For a while. But we're better as we are Elena. I missed that disappointed look in your eye and your sarcastic comments. Besides, I like that sexy hip sway thing you do when you stomp away from me."

**Elena**

She could barely believe what she was hearing. Had she been expecting a real heartfelt answer from Damon? She must have been dreaming. She let out an exasperated scream and threw a glass as hard as she could manage in his direction. It sailed past him and smashed on the wooden floorboards.

"Go away Damon!" she yelled. Knowing as she did so that Damon's description of their relationship was spot on.

"This is my house Elena," he reminded her with his infuriating smirk still on his face.

Elena could think of only one thing to do, even though she knew it would only make him laugh at her. She strode past him, trying her best to keep her hips as straight as possible as she hurried away and up the stairs to the sanctuary of Stefan's room.

Except once she closed the door, she realised that her anger was gone. For once Damon had not lied to her. He'd told her the truth. He'd enjoyed her company, when they had been easy with each other, and had nothing to hide from one another. And if Elena was honest with herself, Bonnie's spell had given her glimpse of another life. A taste of something she would not have ever dreamed of. She'd spent a night with Damon, and had no need to feel any guilt because of it.

She wondered for a moment whether it was a reality she would want to be real? But Damon was right. What made them who they were was the spark that fuelled their arguments, or what lingered behind those looks. She wrapped her arms around herself and remembered last night.

She had felt so safe, for the first time in a long while. So … what did that mean?

**End**


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